Separable pile fastener



April 21, 1964 MAN." Izum SEPARABLE FILE FASTENER Filed Aug. 14, 19,61

` INVENTOR.

vMAMH fzu/m BY W 4" W A rmvn United States Patent O 3,130,111 SEPARABLE PILE FASTENER Manji Izumi, Tokyo, Japan, assignor to Sobef Societe de Brevets de Fermeture Coire S.A.,v Chur, Switzerland Filed Aug. 14, 1961, Ser. No. 131,369 9 Claims. (Cl. 161-48) This invention relates generally to a fastening device and more particularly to a hook and loop technique of disengageably fastening together items of fabric 'which may be made to overlap and to the method for manufacturing the hooks and loops.

It is known to the art to have hook and loop fasteners for holding together pieces of material. It is also known to the art to have hook-to-hook fasteners for holding together different pieces of material or fabric. In either case, the hook is formed from cutting a heated, and, there fore, stiifened loop of synthetic resin material which has been woven into the base material in the form of a raised pile. The cut, stilfened, loops form hooks which When pressed against another piece of material that has either similar type hooks or a raised pile of looped threads will engage such loops or hooks so that a fairly considerable force will be necessary to separate the two pieces of material.

The advantage of the hook-to-hook arrangement is that the fastening surface on both pieces of material to be closed together is essentially the same and, therefore, economy of manufacture can be eifected since it becomes unnecessary to manufacture two separate types of material. However, the disadvantage of the hook-to-hook type of fastener is that the two fastened parts can be separated by the application of relatively little force. For this reason, fasteners of the hook-to-hook type are seldom used.

The hook-to-loop type fastener, wherein one of the materials to be fastened has its surface covered with a multitude of small hooks formed as above described and the other material to be fastened has its surface covered with a multitude of loops as in the form of a raised pile, has the advantage of a relatively strong hooking ability. However, a major disadvantage of the hook-to-loop type of fastening closure is that in manufacture the fastener part having hooks must be prepared and handled separately from the fastener part having loops. Necessarily, this type of closure increases the difliculty of handling and the expense of manufacture.

Another difiiculty with the present hook and loop fastener product is the relative bulkiness of the fastener Which produces unsightly wrinkles when fiexed any considerable amount. The bulkiness arises primarily from the need to have a fully thick pile of loops on one of the two fastener surfaces.

Accordingly, it is the main object of this invention to provide a satisfactory hook and loop fabric fastener which will be similar for both fastener parts.

An equally important object of this invention is to provide a hook and loop fastener in accordance with the main object which will have a strong hooking ability and which will not separate without the application of deliberate manual force.

It is a further object of this invention to produce a hook and loop fabric fastener in which each of the surfaces to be fastened presents a softer feel and has less tendency to snag on garments than the completely hooked surface previously known.

It is a further object of this invention to produce a hook and loop fastener which combines relatively strong hooking qualities with minimum bulkiness.

Other objects and features of this invention will become apparent in the following description and claims, and in the drawings, in which:

3,1a0,111 Patente Apr'. 21, 1964 ice FIG. 1 is a Simplified perspective view of an intermediate product used in this invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross section of three adjacent loops of the intermediate product shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of the intermediate product shown in FIG. 1, showing the means used for cutting the loops;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross section of three adjacent loops of the intermediate product showing the means used -for cussing the loops;

FIG. 5l is an end view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross section of the product of this invention, shown in simplified schematic form, when the adhering or fastened surfaces are in mutual engagement; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the product of this invention as Would be seen When the two fastened pieces of fabrics are being pulled apart.

With reference to FIGURE l, the intermediate product therein illustrated is manufactured by a previously known process. The Warp of the material 11 included auxiliary synthetic resin threads Which form a plurality of loops 10 that are raised from the fabric surfaces. The loops 10 are then hardened by heating so as to make them project upward from the surface, as if they were in a dense pile, rather than lie flat on the fabric surfaces.

FIGURE 2 is a blown-up cross section of a portion of the material shown in FIGURE 1 to illustrate how the thread for the loops 10 is joined to the rest of the fabrc.

The loops 10 of this intermediate product are selectively cut by the process illustrated in FIGURES 3, 4 and 5. A cutting device 12 has a plurality of supporting elbows 14 on which are mounted cutting edges 15. The width of each supporting elbow 14 is such that it will fit into a loop 10. As shown in the plan view, FIG. 3, the cutting edge 15 slopes at a slight angle to the supporting elbow 14 to facilitate cutting loops 10. The cutting edge 15 is mounted on top of its supporting elbow 14 so that the cut in the loop will be near the upper portion of the loop 10.

It is vital to this invention that the loops 10 be selectively cut so that only some predetermined portion of the loops will be converted into hooks. The process used to achieve this selected cut of loops 10 involves moving the material, loop side up, in a horizontal directon around the drum 17. The cutting device 12 is attached to a positioning device, not shown, which intermittently positions the cutting device 12 either in a down or horizontal position 12D where it will intersect the loops or in a slightly raised s position 12U where the loops 10 will pass beneath the cutting device 12. Knowng the rate at which the material 11 moves forward and the distance between rows of loops 10, the positioning device can be programmed so that the cutting device 12 will be in the down, or horizontal position 12D to cut one row of loops and then be moved up to allow a row to pass and thereafter to be'moved down and up to cut alternate rows. A row of loops will be understood herein to refer to those loops along a line that is drawn perpendicular to the path of travelof the material 11 as it moves forward. If there is provided one supporting elbow 14 with a corresponding cutting edge 15 for each loop in the row, then the cutting device 12 will cut all of the loops in a row When the cutting device 12 is in the down or horizontal position 12D. No loops in a row will be cut When the cutting device 12 is in its raised position 12U. The positioning device for the cutting device 12, can, of course, be programmed to produce any pattern of cuts desired such as two rows cut and two rows uncut, or three rows cut and two rows uncut.

By moving the supporting elbows laterally, that is fro right 12R to left 12L as shown in FIG. 3, it becomes possible to produce more complex arrangements of loops -and hooks. For example, if there were a supporting el-v ing the pattern of alternate elbows back and forth (in-- stead of up and down) as each row of Iloops comes along, a completed checkerboard pattern of loops and hooks would be created.

Thus, the arrangement of supporting elbows and cutting edges connected to a cutting device 12 which can be moved either. up and down or sideways gives considcrable flexibility in the pattern of hooks and loops that may -be created on a strip of material. Regardless of the pattern of hooks and loops that is used, the major advantage of this inventon is that the opposing parts of the fastener have an identical arrangement of hooks and loops. To have the maximum hook-to-loopv engagement, it becomes preferable to use a pattem of hooks and loops wherein the number of loops equals the number of hooks.

.FIGURE 6 illustrates, onan enlarged scale, the engagements of alternate hooks and'loops on one of the surfaces to be fastened to the hooks and loops on the other surface to be fastened. The engagement illustrated resists a very strong shearing force so that the only practical way of separating the material is to apply a force roughly normal to the surface of the material. Thus, the material must be separated by peeling one layer from the other, much as is shown in FIGURE 7. The force required to peel one layer off of the other must equal the force necessary to straighten out the hooks row by row so that the loops will separate from the hooks.

The hardened and, therefore, upright loops avoid the need for a heavy mat or pile of loops which are typical in the prior known fasteners. The heavy pile was necessary to keep the very flexible loops upright. However, the heavy pile resulted in a bulky fastener which reduced the flexibility of the fastened strip. This inventon avoids that problem and provides a thinner and smoother fastener which permits much greater flexibility without producing unsghtly wrinkles.

Mono-filament auxiliary thread for forming the loops 10 has been found preferable for most applications, yet multfilament thread may also be used.

Although the inventon has ben described with a certain degree of particularity and certain variations in the pattern of hooks and loops have been suggested, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is by way of example and that changes in the details of construction and method of manufacture will be apparent to one skilled in the art and can be made without departing from the scope and claims of the inventon.

For example, a synthetic resinous material such as nylon has been indicated as useful for the fiber threads constituting the loops and hooks. However, any material which has the requisite stiifness and resiliency may be used. Thus, Dacron can be used as well as other plastic materials. The fiber threads used, such as nylon or Dacron, have to be heat hardened. Other plastic materials which are made by an extrusion or casting process may also be used and the loops may be formed from threads that are set in place and molded from a plastic material in a manner such that the loops project. In Vany case, if a synthetic resinous substance is used as the loop material, a heat hardening treatment must be carried out to form loops which are sufficiently stiif as well as sufliciently elastic. The nature of this inventon, it should be remembered, does not reside in the method of obtaining the intermediate product described above, but rather in the final product and the method of obtaining that final product from the intermediate product.

As it is possible to use the same material for the two parts of the fastener, dyeing can be done easily, uniformly and accurately. If both the hooks and the loops of the fastener are composed of appropriate'synthetic resin monofilament, it is possible to reduce breakage of fibers in the fastener, thereby markedly'increasing the life of the -fastener in comparison with conventional products composedpof multfilament, i.e., compound fllament material of the same substance.

In the above description loops vjere first formed and then cut selectively to make hooks. Alternatively hooks and loops may first be prepared of, for example, plastic, and then fixed into the surface of cloth or a-plastic plate in an appropriate arrangement by a flocking process or the like.

While' the inventon described is for a set pattern of hooks and loops, a Irandom arrangement of hooks and loops would also produce a fully satisfactory product. A major virtue of the set pattern of hooks and loops is that the manufacturing process is particularly adapted to produce some pattern of hooks and loops.

It has been found preferableto have the number of hooks equal to the number of loops. However, a satisfactory product will be produced with a variation fromI equality of hooks and loops, the importantV point of novelty in this inventon being to achieve an arrangement of hooks and loops on a single surface so that the opposing surfaces to be fastened together can be made in one production run and so that two fastener maten'als need not be kept, or stocked. i

A major use for this inventon is to fasten together pieces of cloth or other garment material, but many other applications will be apparent. There is no inherent reason why the hook and loop fastener technique described herein could not be used to fasten together any two pieces of flexible material. The base material need not even be woven since the loops needed in the intermediate product can be cast or molded together with the base material. In some circumstances it might be preferable to attach a strip of fastener material to the main material for which a fastener is sought. to be placed around a baseboard or wall in a gymnasium, the fastener of this inventon could be atached to the back of the protective padding as well as along the baseboard or wall so that the protective padding or coating could be removably fastened to the baseboard or wall. In such cases when the padding becomes worn or needs replacement, it may readily be removed and new padding having fastener material along its rear surface attached to the baseboard or wall.

It is intended, therefore, in the appended claims to cover all such modifications as fall within the true scope of the inventon.

What is claimed is:

1. Hook and loop fastener material having both hooks and loops on the same surface of a foundation piece, said hooks and said loops being intermingled substantially throughout the area of said surface, and said hooks and said loops being closely spaced in the form of a raised pile.

2. Hook and loop fastener material having both hooks and loops on the same surface of a foundation piece, said hooks and said loops constituting a fastener area, said hooks and said loops being intermingled substantially throughout said fastenerarea, and said hooks and said loops being closely spaced in the form of a'raised pile.

3. Hook and loop fastener material having both hooks and loops on the same surface of a foundation piece, said hooks and said loops being closely spaced in the form of a raised pile and intermingled in a pr'edetermined pattern so that both hooks and loops are distributed substantially throughout the area of said surface.

4. Hook and loop fastener material having both hooks and loops on the same surface of a foundation piece, said Thus if a protective padding were tern so that both hooks and loops are distributed substantially throughout said fastener area.

5. Hook and loop fastener material having both hooks and loops on the same surface of a foundation piece, said -hooks and said loops being closely spaced in the form of a raised pile and intermingled in a random fashion so that both hooks and loops are distributed substantially throughout the area of said surface.

6. Hook and loop fastener material having both hooks and loops on the same surface of a foundation piece, said hooks and said loops constituting a fastener area, said hooks and said loops being closely spaced in the form of a raised pile and intermingled in a random fashion so that both hooks and loops are distributed substantially throughout said fastener area.

7. Hook and loop fastener material comprising 'a foundation fabric including a plurality of \veft threads, a plurality of Warp threads, and a plurality of auxilary Warp threads in the form of raised pile threads, said raised pile threads forming both hooks and loops whereby hooks and loops are deployed on the same surface of a foundation piece, said hooks and said loops being intermingled substantially throughoutthe area of said surface.

8. Hook and loop fastener material comprising a foundation fabric including a plurality of Weft threads, a plurality of Warp threads, and a plurality of auxiliary Warp threads in the form of raised pile threads, said `raised same' surface of the-piece, said hools and said loops pile threads forming both hooks and loops'whereby hooks and loops are deployed on the same surface of a foundation piece, said hooks and said loops constituting a fas- 'tener area, said hooks and said loops being intermingled being intermingled substantially throughout the 'area of said surface of eaoh of said pieces, said hooks and said' loops being closely spaced in the form of a raised pile.

References Clted inthefile'of this patent 'UNITED STATES PATENTS 628,335 Klenschmidt et al. July 4, 1899 1,484,293 Boyd Feb. 19, 1924 1,879,257 Howard Sept. 27, 1932 1,939,846 Fenton Dec. 19, 1933 A `1,958,436 Hess May 15, 1934 2,717,437 De Mestral Sept. 13, 1955 2,820,277 Forster Jan. 21, 1958 2,985942 NoWicki e May 30, 1961 3,009,235 Mestral Nov. 21, 1961 3,027,566 Ruby Apr. 3, 1962 3,063,749 Struble et al. Nov. 13, 1962 v3,076244 De Mestral Feb. 5, 1963 

1. HOOK AND LOOP FASTENER MATERIAL HAVING BOTH HOOKS AND LOOPS ON THE SAME SURFACE OF A FOUNDATION PIECE, SAID HOOKS AND SAID LOOPS BEING INTERMINGLED SUBSTANTIALLY THROUGHOUT THE AREA OF SAID SURFACE, AND SAID HOOKS AND SAID LOOPS BEING CLOSELY SPACED IN THE FORMS OF A RAISED PILE. 